Desaturase antigen of mycobacterium tuberculosis

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to the isolation of a new gene, des, which encodes a M. tuberculosis protein named DES. The des gene appears to be conserved among different Mycobacteria species. The amino acid sequence of the DES protein contains two sets of motifs that are characteristic of the active sites of enzymes from the class II diiron-oxo protein family. Among this family of proteins, DES shares significant homology with soluble stearoyl-ACP desaturases. DES is a highly antigenic protein, which is recognized by human sera from patients infected with M. tuberculosis and M. leprae but not by sera from tuberculous cattle. Thus, the DES protein provides a useful tool for the serodiagnostic analysis of tuberculosis.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/022,713, filed Jul. 26, 1996.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Tuberculosis and leprosy, caused by the bacilli from the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and M. leprae respectively are the two major mycobacterial diseases. Pathogenic mycobacteria have the ability to survive within host phagocytic cells. From the interactions between the host and the bacteria results the pathology of the tuberculosis infection through the damages the host immune response causes on tissues (Andersen & Brennan, 1994). Alternatively, the protection of the host is also dependent on its interactions with mycobacteria.

Identification of the bacterial antigens involved in these interactions with the immune system is essential for the understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of mycobacteria and the host immunological response in relation to the evolution of the disease. It is also of great importance for the improvement of the strategies for mycobacterial disease control through vaccination and immunodiagnosis.

Through the years, various strategies have been followed for identifying mycobacterial antigens. Biochemical tools for fractionating and analysing bacterial proteins permitted the isolation of antigenic proteins selected on their capacity to elicit B or T cell responses (Romain et al., 1993; Sorensen et al., 1995). The recent development of molecular genetic methods for mycobacteria (Jacobs et al., 1991; Snapper et al., 1990; Hatful, 1993; Young et al., 1985) allowed the construction of DNA expression libraries of both M. tuberculosis and M. leprae in the λgt11 vector and their expression in E. coli. The screening of these recombinant libraries using murine polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies and patient sera led to the identification of numerous antigens (Braibant et al., 1994; Hermans et al., 1995; Thole & van der Zee, 1990). However, most of them turned out to belong to the group of highly conserved heat shock proteins (Thole & van der Zee, 1990; Young et al., 1990).

The observation in animal models that specific protection against tuberculosis was conferred only by administration of live BCG vaccine, suggested that mycobacterial secreted proteins might play a major role in inducing protective immunity. These proteins were shown to induce cell mediated immune responses and protective immunity in guinea pig or mice model of tuberculosis (Pal & Horwitz, 1992; Andersen, 1994; Haslov et al., 1995). Recently, a genetic methodology for the identification of exported proteins base on PhoA gene fusions was adapted to mycobacteria by Lim et al. (1995). It permitted the isolation of M. tuberculosis DNA fragments encoding exported proteins. Among them, the already known 19 kDa lipoprotein (Lee et al., 1992) and the ERP protein similar to the M. leprae 28 kda antigen (Berthet et al., 1995).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

We have characterized a new M. tuberculosis exported protein named DES identified by using the PhoA gene fusion methodology. The des gene, which seems conserved among mycobacterial species, encodes an antigenic protein highly recognized by human sera from both tuberculosis and leprosy patients but not by sera from tuberculous cattle. The amino acid sequence of the DES protein contains two sets of motifs that are characteristical of the active sites of enzymes from the class II diiron-oxo protein family. Among this family, the DES protein presents significant homologies to soluble stearoyl-ACP desaturases.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several embodiments of the invention and together with description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention will be further clarified by the following examples, which are intended to be purely exemplary of the invention.

Bacteria, Media and Growth Conditions

The bacterial strains and plasmids used in this study are listed in FIG. 8. E. coli DH5α or BL21 (DE3)pLysS cultures were routinely grown in Luria B medium (Difco) at 37° C. Mycobacterium cultures were grown in Middlebrook 7H9 medium (Difco) supplemented with Tween 0.05%, glycerol (0.2%) and ADC (glucose, 0.2%; BSA fraction V, 0.5%; and NaCl, 0.085%) at 37° C. Antibiotics when required were added at the following concentrations: ampicillin (100 μg/ml), kanamycin (20 μg/ml).

Human and Cattle Sera

Serum specimens from 20 individuals with pulmonary or extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis infected) were obtained from the Bligny sanatorium (France). 6 sera from M. bovis infected human tuberculous patients and 24 sera from BCG-vaccinated patients suffering from other pathologies were repectively obtained from Institut Pasteur, (Madagascar), and the Centre de Biologie Medicale specialisee (CBMS) (Institut Pasteur, Paris). Sera from tuberculous cattle (M. bovis infected) were obtained from CNEVA, (Maison Alfort).

Subcloning Procedures

Restriction enzymes and T4 DNA ligase were purchased from Gibco/BRL, Boehringer Mannheim and New England Biolabs. All enzymes were used in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. A 1-kb ladder of DNA molecular mass markers was from Gibco/BRL. DNA fragments used in the cloning procedures were gel purified using the Geneclean II kit (BIO 101 Inc., La Jolla, Calif.). Cosmids and plasmids were isolated by alkaline lysis (Sambrook et al., 1989). Bacterial strains were transformed by electroporation using the Gene Pulser unit (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Richmond, Calif.).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a restriction map of the 4.5 kb EcoRV fragment encoding the M. tuberculosis des gene.

FIG. 2 shows the nucleotide and derived amino acid sequences of the M. tuberculosis des gene.

FIG. 3 shows a comparative sequence analysis of class II diiron-oxo proteins and the M. tuberculosis DES protein. Shaded residues indicate cluster ligands and probable iron ligands in the M. tuberculosis DES protein. Bold unshaded framed letters are probable residues involved in the network of hydrogen bonds to the cluster. Other bold letters indicate conserved residues that are believed to participate in the O₂ ⁻ binding site. Gaps introduced into the sequence of DES are indicated by dots. Accession numbers are as follows: V01555, Epstein-Barr virus ribonucleotide reductase; M58499, Methylococcus capsulatus methane monooxygenase hydroxylase; M60276, Pseudomonas sp. strain CF 600 phenol hydroxylase dmpN polypeptide; M59857, Ricinus communis stearoyl-ACP desaturase; and D38753, O. sativa stearoyl-ACP desaturase.

FIG. 4 is a Southern blot analysis of the distribution of the des gene in other mycobacterial species. DNA from various mycobacterial strains were PstI-digested, electrophoresed, transferred onto a nylon membrane by Southern blotting, and hybridized using probe B, which is shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 shows an SDS-PAGE gel of soluble and insoluble extracts from E. coli expressing the DES protein on plasmid pETdes (I-1718).

FIG. 6 shows the results of ELISAs of the sensitivity of the anitibody response to the DES antigen of human tuberculous and non-tuberculous patients.

FIG. 7 shows the nucleotide and derived amino acid sequence of the Mycoplasma tuberculosis des gene. The underlined sequences correspond to the -35 and -10 boxes of the promoter and a Shine Delgarno sequence that corresponds to the putative ribosomal attachment site, respectively. The adenosine labelled "+1" corresponds to the transcription initiation site.

FIG. 8 is a table of the bacterial strains and plasmids used in this application.

FIG. 9 is a Western blot showing the recognition of the purified DES protein by antibodies from M. bovis and M. tuberculosis-infected humans and cattle.

Southern Blot Analysis and Colony Hybridization

DNA fragments for radiolabeling were separated on 0.7% agarose gels (Gibco BRL) in a Tris-borate-EDTA buffer system (Sambrook et al., 1989) and isolated from the gel by using Geneclean II (BIO 101). Radiolabeling was carried out with the random primed labeling kit Megaprime (Amersham) with 5 μCi of (a⁻³² P)dCTP, and nonincorporated label was removed by passing through a Nick Column (Pharmacia). Southern blotting was carried out in 0.4 M NaOH with nylon membranes (Hybond-N+, Amersham) according to the Southern technique (Southern, 1975), prehybridization and hybridization was carried out as recommended byt he manufacturer using RHB buffer (Amersham). Washing at 65° C. was as follows: two washes with 2XSSPE (150 mM NaCl, 8.8 mM NaH₂ PO₄, 1 mM EDTA pH 7.4)--SDS 0.1% of 15 minutes each, one wash with 1XSSPE-SDS 0.1% for 10 minutes, two washes with 0.7XSSPE--SDS 0.1% of 15 minutes each. Autoradiographs were prepared by exposure with X-ray film (Kodak X-Omat at -80° C. overnight. Colony hybrization was carried out using nylon membrane discs (Hybond-N+0.45 μm, Amersham). E. coli colonies adsorbed on the membranes were lysed in a (0.5M NaOH, 1.5M NaCl) solution, before being placed for one minute in a micro-wave oven to fix the DNA. Hybridization and washings were described for the Southern blotting analysis.

DNA Sequencing and Analysis

Sequences of double-stranded plasmid DNA were determined by the dideoxy-chain termination method (Sanger et al., 1977) using the Taq Dye Deoxy Terminator Cycle sequencing Kit (Applied Biosystems), on a GeneAmp PCR System 9600 (Perkin Elmer), and run on a DNA Analysis System-Model 373 stretch (Applied Biosystems). The sequence was assembled and processed using DNA strider™ (CEA, France) and the University of Wisconsin Genetics Computer Group (UWGCG) packages. The BLAST algorithm (Altschul et al., 1990) was used to search protein data bases for similarity.

Expression and Purification of the DES Protein in E coli

A 1043 bp NdeI-BamHI fragment of the des gene was amplified by PCR using nucleotides JD8(SEQ ID NO. 1)(5'-CGGCATATGTCAGCCAAGCTGACCGACCTGCAG-3') and JD9 (SEQ ID NO.2) (5'-CCGGGATCCCGCGCTCGCCGCTCTGCATCGTCG-3'), and cloned into the NdeI-BamHI sites of pET14b (Novagen) to generate pET-des. PCR amplifications were carried out in a DNA thermal Cycler (Perkin Elmer), using Taq polymerase (Cetus) according to the manufacturer's recommendations. PCR consisted of one cycle of denaturation (95° C., 6 min) followed by 25 cycles of amplication consisting of denaturation (95° C., 1 min), annealing (57° C., 1 min), and primer extension (72° C., 1 min). In the pET-des vector, the expression of the des gene is under control of the T7 bacteriophage promoter and the DES antigen is expressed as a fusion protein containing six histidine residues. Expression of the des gene was induced by addition of 0.4 mM IPTG in the culture medium. The DES protein was purified by using a nickel-chelate affinity resin according to the recommendatins of the supplier (Qiagen, Chatsworth, Calif.). Linked to the localization of the DES protein in cytoplasmic inclusion bodies, the purification was carried out under denaturing conditions in guanidine hydrochloride buffers. The protein was eluted in buffer A (6 M guanidine hydrochloride. 0.1 M NaH₁ PO₄, 0.01 M Tris, pH 8) containing 100 mM EDTA. The purified protein was kept and used in buffer A, as all attempts to solubilize it in other buffers were unsuccessful.

SDS-PAGE and Immunoblotting

Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrlamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was carried out as described by Laemmli (1970). For Western blotting experiments (immunoblotting), approximately 10 μg of DES purified protein were run on a SDS-polyacrylamide gel and transferred onto nitrocellulose membranes (Hybond C extra, Amersham) using a Bio-Rad mini transblot apparatus according to the recommendations of the manufacturer (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Richmond, Calif). Transfer yield was visualized by transient staining with Ponceau Rouge. The membrane were incubated with human patient or cattle sera diluted 1/200 at 37° C. for 1 hour and with a goat anti-human (Promega) or rabbit anti-cattle (Biosys) IgG alkaline phosphatase-conjugated secondary antibody diluted 1/2500' for 30 minutes at 37° C. The color reaction was performed by addition of 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolylphosphate (0.165 mg/ml) and toluidinum nitroblue tetrazolium (0.33 mg/ml) as substrates.

ELISA

The human or cattle sera were tested for antibodies against DES by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The 96-well micro-titer trays (Nune) were coated with 0.1 μg (per well) of purified DES protein in guanidine hydrochloride buffer A (6 M guanidine hydrochloride, 0.1 M NaH₂ PO₄, 001 M Tris, pH 8) (1 h at 37° C. and 16 h at 4° C.). After three washes, wells were saturated with bovine serum albumin 3% in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) for 30 mn at room temperature. After three washes, sera diluted from 1/50° to 1/3200° in buffer (PBS, 0.1% Tween 20, 1% bovine serum albumin) were added to the wells for 2 h at 37° C. After three washes, the wells were treated with goat anti-human IgG-alkaline phosphatase conjugate (promega) diluted 1/4000° for 1 h at 37° C. Then, 4 mg of p-nitrophenylphospate per ml were added as substrate. After 20 mn of incubation at 37° C., the plates were read photometrically at an optical density of 405 nm in micro-ELISA Autoreader (Dynatech, Mames la Coquette, France).

Statistics

Antibody responses of the different sera tested were compared by using the Student t test. P≧0.05 was considered nonsignificant.

Nucleotide Sequence and Accession Number

The nucleotide sequences of des has been deposited in the Genome Sequence Data Base (GSDB) under the accession number U49839.

Cloning of the Des Gene

The construction of a library of fusion of M. tuberculosis genomic DNA to the phoA gene and its expression in M smegmatis, described by Lim et al. (1995), led to the isolation of several PhoA⁺ clones. pExp421 is the plasmid harboured by one of the PhoA⁺ clones selected from this library. Detection of enzymatically active alkaline phosphatase indicated that the pExp421 insert contains functional expression and exportation signals. Restriction analysis showed that pExp421 carries a 1.1 kb insert. Partial determination of its sequence identified a 577 bp ORF, named des, fused in frame to the phoA gene and presenting two motifs, of 9 and 14 amino acids, conserved with soluble stearoyl-acyl-carrier protein desaturases (Lim et al., 1995).

To isolate the full-length des gene, the M. tuberculosis H37R^(v) pYUB18 genomic cosmid library (Jacobs et al., 1991), was screened by colony hybridization with the 1.1 kb probe (probe A, see FIG. 1). Two hybridizing cosmids named C₃ and C₄ were selected for further isolation of the gene. C₃ and C₄ were cut with several restriction enzymes and subjected to Southern blot analysis using the 1 .1 kb fragment as a probe.

The EcoR^(v) restriction profile revealed a single hybridizing fragment of 4.5 kb which was subcloned into pBluescript KS⁻ (Stratagene) to give plasmid pBS-des.

Characterization of the Des Gene

The DNA sequence of the full des ORF was determined (FIG. 2). The des gene was shown to cover a 1017 bp region, encoding a 339 amino acid protein with a calculated molecular mass of 37 kDa. The ORF starts with a potential ATG start codon at position 549, and ends with a TAG stop codon at position 1565. There is a potential Shine-Dalgarno motif (GGAGG) at position -8 upstream of the ATG. The G+C content of the ORF (62%) is consistent with the global GC content observed mycobacterial genome. The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the des gene were compared to sequences in databases. They showed very high homologies to the M. leprae aadX gene located on cosmid B2266, deposited in GenBank as part of the M. leprae genome sequencing project (GenBank accession number n°. U15182). Within the coding region, the DNA sequences were 79% identical while the encoded proteins were 80% identical (88% including conserved residues). The des gene also scored significantly against soluble stearoyl-ACP desturases: 44% identity at the nucleotide level, 30% identity (51% including conserved residues) at the amino acid level, to the Oryza saliva stearoyl-ACP desaturase (accesion n°. D38753).

Although the detection of a phoA enzymatical activity in the M. smegmatis clone harbouring the pEXp421 suggests the DES protein is exported, no structural similarities were found between the DES protein N terminal amino acids and signal sequences of bacterial exported proteins (Izard & Kendall, 1994).

Like in M. leprae genome, a second ORF presenting high homologies ot the M. lepra putative NtrB gene (cosmid B2266), is located downstream of the des gene in M. tuberculosis FIG. 2. Interestingly, the two ORF, des and <<NtrB>>, are separated in M. tuberculosis by two direct repeats of 66 nucleotides overlapping on 9 nucleotides (FIG. 2). Although M. leprae and M. tuberculosis seem to share the same genomic organization in this part of the chromosome, these repeats from the M. leprae genome.

The Des Protein Presents the Conserved Amino Acid Motifs of the Class II Diiron-oxo Proteins

Further analysis of the amino-acid sequence of the DES protein revealed the presence of conserved motifs found only in class II diiron-oxo proteins (Fox et al., 1994) (FIG. 3). These proteins are oxo-bridged diiron clusters (Fe--O--Fe) containing proteins. They possess in their secondary structure 4 alpha helices involved in the protein-derived cluster ligands. As revealed by X-ray structure studies, in these proteins, the diiron axis is oreiented parallel to the long axis of the four helix bundle with ligands arising from four noncontiguous helices, B, C, E and F. M. tuberculosis DES protein appears to have the same active site residues as the class II diiron-oxo enzymes. This includes Glu and His residues (E₁₀₇ and H₁₁₀ in helix C, E₁₆₇ in helix E and E₁₉₇ and H₂₀₀ in helix F) that are ligands to the iron atoms, Asp, Glu and Arg residues (E₁₀₆ and R₁₀₉ in helix C, D₁₉₆ in helix F) that are involved in a hydrogen-bonding network to the cluster and, De and Thr resideues that may be part of the O₂ -binding site (T₁₇₀ in helix E, I₁₉₃ in helix F). Thus, the M. tuberculosis DES protein contains in its primary sequence two conserved D/E(ENXH) motifs separated by 85 amino acids.

The class II diiron-oxo protein family contains up to date ribonucleotide reductases, hydrocarbon hydroxylases (methane monooxygenase, toluene-4-monooxygenase and phenol hydroxylase) and soluble-ACP desaturases. On the overall sequence alignment the DES protein presents higher homology to soluble stearoyl-ACP desaturases than to ribonucleotide reductases or bacterial hydroxylases. The percentage identity at the amino acid level of the DES protein was said to be 30% with the Oryza sativa stearoyl-ACP desaturases, whereas it is only 17% with the Methylococcus capsulatus methane monooxygenase (accession n°.M58499), 17.5% with the Pseudomonas sp CF 600 phenol hydroxlase (accession n°.M60276) and 17,7% with the Epstein Barr ribonucleotide reductase (accession n°.^(v) 01555). Homologies to the soluble Δ9 desaturases mostly concern the amino acids located within the active site in helices C, E and F (FIG. 3).

Distribution of the Des Gene in other Mycobacterial Species

The presence of the des gene in PstI-degested chromosomal DNA from various mycobacterial strains was analyzed by Southern blotting (FIG. 4). The probe used (probe B) is a PCR amplication product corresponding to nucleotides 572 to 1589 (see FIG. 1). The probe hybridized on all mycobacterial genomic DNA tested. Strong signals were detected in M. tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. bovis BCG, M. Africanum and M. avium. Weaker signals were visible in M. microti, M. zenopi, M. fortuitum and M. smegmatis. Thus, the des gene seems to be present in single copy at least in the slow growing M. tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. bovis BCG, M. Africanum, M. avium and M. zenopi as well as in the fast growing M. smegmatis.

Expression of the Des Gene in E. coli

In order to overexpress the DES protein, the des gene was subcloned into the bacteriophage T7 promoter-based expression vector pET14b (Novagen). A PCR amplification product of the des gene (see material and methods) was cloned into the NdeI-BamHI sites of the vector, leading to plasmid pET-des. Upon IPTG induction of E. Coli BL21 DE3 pLysS cells harbouring the plasmid pET-des, a protein of about 40 kDa was overproduced. The size of the overproduced protein is in agreement with the molecular mass calculated from the deduced polypeptide. As shown in FIG. 5, the great majority of the overproduced DES protein is present in the insoluble matter of E. coli cells. This probably results from the precipitation of the over-concentrated protein in E. coli cytoplasm thus forming inclusion bodies. To be able to dissolve the protein, the purification was carried out using a nickel chelate affinity resin under denaturing conditions in guanidine hydrochloride buffers. Among all the conditions tested (pH, detergents . . . ), the only condition in which the protein could be eluted without precipitating in the column and remain soluble, was in a buffer containing 6 M guanidine hydrocloride.

Immunogenicity of the DES Protein after Infection

20 serum samples from M. tuberculosis infected human patients (4 with extra-pulmonary tuberculosis, 15 with pulmonary tuberculosis and 1 with both forms if the disease), 6 sera from M. bovis infected human patients and 4 sera from M. bovis infected cattle were tested either pooled or taken individually in immunoblot experiments to determine the frequency of recognition of the purified DES protein by antibodies from infected humans or cattle. 20 out of the 20 sera from the M. tuberculosis infected human patients and 6 out of the 6 sera from the M. bovis infected human patients recognized the recombinant antigen as shown by the reaction with the 37 kDa band, (FIG. 9). Furthermore, a pool of sera from human lepromatous leprosy patients also reacted against the DES antigen.

In contrast, the pool of serum specimens from M bovis infected cattle did not recognize the DES protein. These results indicate that the DES protein is highly immunogenic in tuberculosis human patients. Both pulmonary and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis patients recognize the antigen.

Magnitude of Human Patients Antibody Responses

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to compare the sensitivity of the different serum samples from 20 tuberculosis patients (15 infected by M. tuberculosis and 5 infected by M. Bovis) to the DES antigen. This technique was also carried out to compare the sensitivity of the antibody response to DES of the 20 tuberculosis patients to the one of 24 patients (BCG-vaccinated) suffering from other pathologies. As shown on FIG. 6, patients suffering from other pathologies than tuberculosis, react at low level to the DES antigen (average OD₄₀₅ =0.17 for a serum dilution 1/100⁴). The average antibody response from the tuberculosis patients infected by M. tuberculosis or M. bovis against the same antigen is much more sensitive (OD₄₀₅ =0.32 and OD₄₀₅ =0.36 respectively, for a serum dilution 1/1004). This difference in the sensitivity of the immunological response is statistically highly significant at every dilution from 1/50^(a) to 1/3200^(a) as shown by a Student I₉₅ test (I₉₅ =5.18, 6.57, 6.16, 5.79, 4.43, 2.53 and 1.95, at sera dilutions 1/50^(a), 1/100^(a), 1/200^(a), 1/400^(a), 1/800^(a), 1/600^(a) and 1/3200^(a), respectively). No differences in the sensitivity of the antibody response was noticed between patents suffering from pulmonary or extra-pulmonary tuberculosis.

The Pho A gene fusion methodology permitted the identification of a new M. tuberculosis exported antigenic protein. This 37 kDa exported protein contains conserved amino acid residues which are characteristical of class II diiron-oxoproteins. Proteins from that family are all enzymes that require iron for activity. They include ribonucleotide reductases, hydrocarbon hydroxylases and stearoly-ACP desaturases. The M. tuberculosis DES protein only presents significant homologies to plant stearoyl-ACP desaturases (44% identity at the nucleotide level, and 30% identity at the amino-acid level) which are exported enzymes as they are translocated across the chloroplastic membranes (Keegstra & Olsten, 1989). This result suggests that the DES protein could be involved in the mycobacterial fatty acid biosynthesis. Furthermore, the localization of the protein outside the cytoplasm would be consistent with its role in the lipid metabolism, since lipids represent 60% of the cell wall constituents and that part of the biosynthesis of the voluminous mycolic acids containing 60 to 90 carbon atoms occurs outside the cytoplasm. Among all the different steps of the lipid metabolism, desaturation reactions are of special interest, first because they very often take place at early steps of lipid biosynthesis and secondly because, through the control they have on the unsaturation rate of membranes, they contribute to the adaptation of mycobacteria to their environment (Wheeler & Ratledge, 1994). An enzyme system involving a stearoyl-Coenzyme A desaturase (analog of the plant stearoyl-ACP-desaturases), catalyzing oxydative desaturation of the CoA derivatives of stearic and palmitic acid to the corresponding A9 monounsaturated fatty acids has been biochemically characterized in Mycobacterium phlei (Fulco & Bloch, 1962; Fulco & Bloch, 1964; Kashiwabara et al., 1975; Kashiwabara & Sato, 1973). This system was shown to be firmly bound to a membranous structure (Fulco & Bloch, 1964). Thus, M. tuberculosis steroyl-Coenzyme A desaturase (Δ9 desaturase) is expected to be an exported protein. Sonicated extracts of E. coli expressing the DES protein were assayed for Δ9 desaturating activity according to the method described by Legrand and Bensadoun (1991), using (steroyl-CoA) ¹⁴ C as a substrate. However, no Δ9 desaturating activity could be detected. This result is probably linked to the fact that desaturation systems are multi-enzyme complexes involving electron transport chains and numerous cofactors, often difficult to render functional in vitro. E. coli and mycobacteria being very different from a lipid metabolism point of view, the M. tuberculosis recombinant Δ9 desaturase might not dispose in E. coli of all the cofactors and associated enzymes required for activity or might not interact properly with them. Moreover, not all cofactors involved in the Δ9 desaturation process of mycobacteria are known, and they might be missing in the incubation medium.

However, if the DES protein encodes a Δ9 desaturase, an amazing point concerns its primary sequence. Indeed, all animal, fungal and the only two bacterial Δ9 desaturases sequenced to date (Sakamoto et al., 1994) are integral membrane proteins which have been classified into a third class of diiron-oxo proteins on the basis of their primary sequences involving histidine conserved residues (Shanklin et al., 1994). The plant soluble Δ9 desaturases are the only desaturases to possess the type of primary sequence of class II diiron-oxo proteins (Shanklin & Somerville, 1991). No bacteria have yet been found which have a plant type Δ9 desaturase.

As shown by immunoblotting and ELISA experiments, the DES protein is a highly immunogenic antigen which elicits B cell response in 100% of the tuberculosis M. bovis or M. tuberculosis-infected human patients tested, independently of the form of the disease (extrapulmonary or pulmonary). It also elicits an antibody response in lepromatous leprosy patients. Interestingly, although more sera would need to be tested, tuberculous cattle do not seem to recognize the DES antigen. Furthermore, the ELISA experiments showed that it is possible to distinguish tuberculosis patients from patients suffering from other pathologies on the basis of the sensitivity of their antibody response to the DES antigen. The DES antigen is therefore a good candidate to be used for serodiagnosis of tuberculosis in human patients. The reason why the non-tuberculous patients tested recognize at a low level the DES protein could be due to the fact they are all BCG-vaccinated individuals (BCG expressing the protein), or to a cross-reactivity of their antibody response with other bacterial antigens. It would now be interesting to know whether the DES antigen possesses in addition to its B cell epitopes, T cell epitopes which are the only protective ones in the host immunological response against pathogenic mycobacteria. If the DES protein is also a good stimulator of the T cell response in a majority of tuberculosis patients, it could be used either individually or as part of a <<cocktail >>of antigens in the design of a subunit vaccine against tuberculosis.

The references cited herein are listed on the following pages and are expressly incorporated by reference.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.

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18. Lee, B. Y., S. A. Hefta, and P. J. Brennan. 1992. Characterization of the major membrane protein of virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Infection and Immunity. 60:2066-2074.

19. Legrand, P., and A. Bensadoun. 1991. Stearyl-CoA desaturase activity in cultured rat hepatocytes. Biochimica et Biophysica Acia. 1086:89-94.

20. Lim, E. M., J. Rauzier, J, Timm, G. Torrea, A. Murray, B. Gicquel, and D. Portnoi. 1995. Identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA sequences encoding exported proteins by using phoA gene fusions. Journal of Bacteriology. 177:59-65.

21. Pal, P. G., and M. A. Horwitz: 1992. Immunization with extracellular proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis induces cell-mediated immune responses and substential protective immunity in a guinea pig model of pulmonary tuberculosis. Infection and Immunity. 60:4781-4792.

22. Romain, F., A. Laqueyrerie, P. Militzer, P. Pescher, P. Chavarot, M. Lagranderie, G. Auregan, M. Gheorghiu, and G. Marchal. 1993. Identification of a Mycobacterium bovis BCG 45/47-kilodalton antigen complex, an immunodominant target for antibody response after immunization with living bacteria. Infection and immunity. 61:742-750.

23. Sakamoto, T., H. Wada, I. Nishida, M. Ohmori, and N. Murata. 1994. Δ9 acyl lipid desaturases of cyanobacteria. J. Biol. Chem. 269:25576-25580.

24. Sambrook, J., E. F. Fritsch, and T. Maniatis. 1989. Molecular cloning-A laboratory manual. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.

25. Sanger, F., S. Nicklen, and A. R. Coulson. 1977. DNA sequencing with chain terminating inhibitors. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 74:5463-5467.

26. Shanklin, J., and C. Somerville. 1991. Stearoyl-acyl-carrier-protein desaturase from higher plants is struturally unrelatad to the animal and fungal homologs. Proceeding of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America. 88:2510-2514.

27. Shanklin, J., E. Whittle, and B. G. Fox. 1994. Eight histidine residues art catalytically essential in a membrane-associated iron enzyme, stearoyl-CoA desaturase, and are conserved in alkane hydroxylase and xylene monooxygenase. Biochemistry. 33:12787-12794.

28. Snapper, S. B., B. R. Bloom, and J. W. R. Jacobs. 1990. Molecular genetic approaches to mycobacterial investigation. p. 199-218. In J. McFadden (ed.), Molecular Biology of the Mycobacteria. Surrey University Press, London.

29. Sorensen, A. L., S. Nagai, G. Houen, P. Andersen, and A. B. Andersen. 1995. Purification and characterization of a low-molecular-mass T-cell antigen secreted by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Infection and Immunity. 63:1710-1717.

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33. Wheeler, P. R., and C. Ratledge. 1994. Metabolism of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, p. 353-385. In B. R. Bloom (ed.), Tuberculosis: Pathogenesis, Protection, and Control. ASM, Washington, DC. 34. Young, D., T. Garbe, R. Lathigra, and C. Abou-Zeid. 1990. Protein antigens: structure, function and regulation, p. 1-35. In J. McFadden (ed.). Molecular biology of mycobacteria. Surrey university Press, Laudon.

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    __________________________________________________________________________     #             SEQUENCE LISTING                                                 - (1) GENERAL INFORMATION:                                                     -    (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 37                                             - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:1:                                             -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #pairs    (A) LENGTH: 33 base                                                            (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: Not Relev - #ant                                       -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: other nucleic acid                                   #= "NUCLEIC ACID"CRIPTION: /desc                                               -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:1:                                  #         33       AGCT GACCGACCTG CAG                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:2:                                             -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #pairs    (A) LENGTH: 33 base                                                            (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: Not Relev - #ant                                       -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: other nucleic acid                                   #= "NUCLEIC ACID"CRIPTION: /desc                                               -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:2:                                  #         33       GCCG CTCTGCATCG TCG                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:3:                                             -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #pairs    (A) LENGTH: 1691 base                                                          (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: Not Relev - #ant                                       -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: other nucleic acid                                   #= "NUCLEIC ACID"CRIPTION: /desc                                               -     (ix) FEATURE:                                                                      (A) NAME/KEY: CDS                                                              (B) LOCATION: 549..1562                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:3:                                  - GATCATCATC GGCCGGCTGC CGCGCAGGGC GCCGACACCG GCGAGTGCGG GC - #GCGAGGAT          60                                                                           - CGGCCCCCAC CAGTTCGGCA GCTGCGTGTC GATGCGCTCC ACAATCCCGG GA - #AACAGCTC         120                                                                           - GACCATTACC TCCTCAATAT GAGCCTCGAA AAACTTGCCG CTGTGCGCGG CG - #TCGTGGTG         180                                                                           - AGCGCACACA ACAACTGTTA GCTGACCAGC AGGATCGGCG CTCTTACCGG TC - #TGTTCACC         240                                                                           - GCATATCTGA ACGGACGGCT GGGAGCCACC CGCAAGCAAT TCATCGACTA CT - #GCGTCAAC         300                                                                           - ATGTTGCTCA GCACCGCCGC CACCTACGCA CCGCACCGCG AGCGGGGAGA AT - #CCGAACAC         360                                                                           - TCCATCCCAG CCGGGCCGCA CAACTGAGGA CGACTGGGGT TCACCCCACG CG - #GCCACCGG         420                                                                           - GGCCCGCCGA TGCCAGCATC CTGCCCGCTG CTGGCAGCTC AACATGCCGC GC - #GAAGCCCA         480                                                                           - AACTTGATGC TACCGAGAGA CACAGATATA TTGACTGCAA CCATTAGACA CA - #GATAACTG         540                                                                           #CTG CTG CAC GAA CTT     590TG ACC GAC CTG CAG                                          Met Ser Ala Lys Leu T - #hr Asp Leu Gln Leu Leu His Glu Leu           #        10                                                                    - GAA CCG GTC GTC GAG AAG TAC CTG AAC CGG CA - #C CTG AGC ATG CAC AAG           638                                                                           Glu Pro Val Val Glu Lys Tyr Leu Asn Arg Hi - #s Leu Ser Met His Lys            # 30                                                                           - CCC TGG AAC CCG CAC GAC TAC ATC CCG TGG TC - #G GAC GGG AAG AAC TAC           686                                                                           Pro Trp Asn Pro His Asp Tyr Ile Pro Trp Se - #r Asp Gly Lys Asn Tyr            #                 45                                                           - TAC GCG CTC GGC GGG CAG GAT TGG GAC CCC GA - #C CAG AGC AAG CTT TCT           734                                                                           Tyr Ala Leu Gly Gly Gln Asp Trp Asp Pro As - #p Gln Ser Lys Leu Ser            #             60                                                               - GAT GTC GCC CAG GTG GCG ATG GTG CAG AAC CT - #G GTC ACC GAG GAC AAC           782                                                                           Asp Val Ala Gln Val Ala Met Val Gln Asn Le - #u Val Thr Glu Asp Asn            #         75                                                                   - CTG CCG TCG TAT CAC CGC GAG ATC GCG ATG AA - #C ATG GGC ATG GAC GGC           830                                                                           Leu Pro Ser Tyr His Arg Glu Ile Ala Met As - #n Met Gly Met Asp Gly            #     90                                                                       - GCG TGG GGG CAG TGG GTC AAC CGT TGG ACC GC - #C GAG GAG AAT CGG CAC           878                                                                           Ala Trp Gly Gln Trp Val Asn Arg Trp Thr Al - #a Glu Glu Asn Arg His            #110                                                                           - GGC ATC GCG CTG CGC GAC TAC CTG GTG GTG AC - #C CGA TCG GTC GAC CCT           926                                                                           Gly Ile Ala Leu Arg Asp Tyr Leu Val Val Th - #r Arg Ser Val Asp Pro            #               125                                                            - GTC GAG TTG GAG AAA CTT CGC CTC GAG GTA GT - #C AAC CGG GGC TTC AGC           974                                                                           Val Glu Leu Glu Lys Leu Arg Leu Glu Val Va - #l Asn Arg Gly Phe Ser            #           140                                                                - CCA GGC CAA AAC CAC CAG GGC CAC TAT TTC GC - #G GAG AGC CTC ACC GAC          1022                                                                           Pro Gly Gln Asn His Gln Gly His Tyr Phe Al - #a Glu Ser Leu Thr Asp            #       155                                                                    - TCC GTC CTC TAT GTC AGT TTC CAG GAA CTG GC - #A ACC CGG ATT TCG CAC          1070                                                                           Ser Val Leu Tyr Val Ser Phe Gln Glu Leu Al - #a Thr Arg Ile Ser His            #   170                                                                        - CGC AAT ACC GGC AAG GCA TGT AAC GAC CCC GT - #C GCC GAC CAG CTC ATG          1118                                                                           Arg Asn Thr Gly Lys Ala Cys Asn Asp Pro Va - #l Ala Asp Gln Leu Met            175                 1 - #80                 1 - #85                 1 -        #90                                                                            - GCC AAG ATC TCG GCA GAC GAG AAT CTG CAC AT - #G ATC TTC TAC CGC GAC          1166                                                                           Ala Lys Ile Ser Ala Asp Glu Asn Leu His Me - #t Ile Phe Tyr Arg Asp            #               205                                                            - GTC AGC GAG GCC GCG TTC GAC CTC GTG CCC AA - #C CAG GCC ATG AAG TCG          1214                                                                           Val Ser Glu Ala Ala Phe Asp Leu Val Pro As - #n Gln Ala Met Lys Ser            #           220                                                                - CTG CAC CTG ATT TTG AGC CAC TTC CAG ATG CC - #C GGC TTC CAA GTA CCC          1262                                                                           Leu His Leu Ile Leu Ser His Phe Gln Met Pr - #o Gly Phe Gln Val Pro            #       235                                                                    - GAG TTC CGG CGC AAA GCC GTG GTC ATC GCC GT - #C GGG GGT GTC TAC GAC          1310                                                                           Glu Phe Arg Arg Lys Ala Val Val Ile Ala Va - #l Gly Gly Val Tyr Asp            #   250                                                                        - CCG CGC ATC CAC CTC GAC GAA GTC GTC ATG CC - #G GTA CTG AAG AAA TGG          1358                                                                           Pro Arg Ile His Leu Asp Glu Val Val Met Pr - #o Val Leu Lys Lys Trp            255                 2 - #60                 2 - #65                 2 -        #70                                                                            - TGT ATC TTC GAG CGC GAG GAC TTC ACC GGC GA - #G GGG GCT AAG CTG CGC          1406                                                                           Cys Ile Phe Glu Arg Glu Asp Phe Thr Gly Gl - #u Gly Ala Lys Leu Arg            #               285                                                            - GAC GAG CTG GCC CTG GTG ATC AAG GAC CTC GA - #G CTG GCC TGC GAC AAG          1454                                                                           Asp Glu Leu Ala Leu Val Ile Lys Asp Leu Gl - #u Leu Ala Cys Asp Lys            #           300                                                                - TTC GAG GTG TCC AAG CAA CGC CAA CTC GAC CG - #G GAA GCC CGT ACG GGC          1502                                                                           Phe Glu Val Ser Lys Gln Arg Gln Leu Asp Ar - #g Glu Ala Arg Thr Gly            #       315                                                                    - AAG AAG GTC AGC GCA CAC GAG CTG CAT AAA AC - #C GCT GGC AAA CTG GCG          1550                                                                           Lys Lys Val Ser Ala His Glu Leu His Lys Th - #r Ala Gly Lys Leu Ala            #   330                                                                        - ATG AGC CGT CGT TAGCCCGGCG ACGATGCAGA GCGCGCAGCG CG - #ATGAGCAG              1602                                                                           Met Ser Arg Arg                                                                335                                                                            - GAGGCGGGCA ATCCAACCCA GCCCGGCGAC GATGCAGAGC GCGCAGCGCG AT - #GAGCAGGA        1662                                                                           #          1691    CAGC CCGGCGTTG                                              - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:4:                                             -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 338 amino                                                          (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein                                              #NO:4:  (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID                                      - Met Ser Ala Lys Leu Thr Asp Leu Gln Leu Le - #u His Glu Leu Glu Pro          #                 15                                                           - Val Val Glu Lys Tyr Leu Asn Arg His Leu Se - #r Met His Lys Pro Trp          #             30                                                               - Asn Pro His Asp Tyr Ile Pro Trp Ser Asp Gl - #y Lys Asn Tyr Tyr Ala          #         45                                                                   - Leu Gly Gly Gln Asp Trp Asp Pro Asp Gln Se - #r Lys Leu Ser Asp Val          #     60                                                                       - Ala Gln Val Ala Met Val Gln Asn Leu Val Th - #r Glu Asp Asn Leu Pro          # 80                                                                           - Ser Tyr His Arg Glu Ile Ala Met Asn Met Gl - #y Met Asp Gly Ala Trp          #                 95                                                           - Gly Gln Trp Val Asn Arg Trp Thr Ala Glu Gl - #u Asn Arg His Gly Ile          #           110                                                                - Ala Leu Arg Asp Tyr Leu Val Val Thr Arg Se - #r Val Asp Pro Val Glu          #       125                                                                    - Leu Glu Lys Leu Arg Leu Glu Val Val Asn Ar - #g Gly Phe Ser Pro Gly          #   140                                                                        - Gln Asn His Gln Gly His Tyr Phe Ala Glu Se - #r Leu Thr Asp Ser Val          145                 1 - #50                 1 - #55                 1 -        #60                                                                            - Leu Tyr Val Ser Phe Gln Glu Leu Ala Thr Ar - #g Ile Ser His Arg Asn          #               175                                                            - Thr Gly Lys Ala Cys Asn Asp Pro Val Ala As - #p Gln Leu Met Ala Lys          #           190                                                                - Ile Ser Ala Asp Glu Asn Leu His Met Ile Ph - #e Tyr Arg Asp Val Ser          #       205                                                                    - Glu Ala Ala Phe Asp Leu Val Pro Asn Gln Al - #a Met Lys Ser Leu His          #   220                                                                        - Leu Ile Leu Ser His Phe Gln Met Pro Gly Ph - #e Gln Val Pro Glu Phe          225                 2 - #30                 2 - #35                 2 -        #40                                                                            - Arg Arg Lys Ala Val Val Ile Ala Val Gly Gl - #y Val Tyr Asp Pro Arg          #               255                                                            - Ile His Leu Asp Glu Val Val Met Pro Val Le - #u Lys Lys Trp Cys Ile          #           270                                                                - Phe Glu Arg Glu Asp Phe Thr Gly Glu Gly Al - #a Lys Leu Arg Asp Glu          #       285                                                                    - Leu Ala Leu Val Ile Lys Asp Leu Glu Leu Al - #a Cys Asp Lys Phe Glu          #   300                                                                        - Val Ser Lys Gln Arg Gln Leu Asp Arg Glu Al - #a Arg Thr Gly Lys Lys          305                 3 - #10                 3 - #15                 3 -        #20                                                                            - Val Ser Ala His Glu Leu His Lys Thr Ala Gl - #y Lys Leu Ala Met Ser          #               335                                                            - Arg Arg                                                                      - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:5:                                             -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #pairs    (A) LENGTH: 548 base                                                           (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: Not Relev - #ant                                       -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: other nucleic acid                                   #= "NUCLEIC ACID"CRIPTION: /desc                                               -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:5:                                  - GATCATCATC GGCCGGCTGC CGCGCAGGGC GCCGACACCG GCGAGTGCGG GC - #GCGAGGAT          60                                                                           - CGGCCCCCAC CAGTTCGGCA GCTGCGTGTC GATGCGCTCC ACAATCCCGG GA - #AACAGCTC         120                                                                           - GACCATTACC TCCTCAATAT GAGCCTCGAA AAACTTGCCG CTGTGCGCGG CG - #TCGTGGTG         180                                                                           - AGCGCACACA ACAACTGTTA GCTGACCAGC AGGATCGGCG CTCTTACCGG TC - #TGTTCACC         240                                                                           - GCATATCTGA ACGGACGGCT GGGAGCCACC CGCAAGCAAT TCATCGACTA CT - #GCGTCAAC         300                                                                           - ATGTTGCTCA GCACCGCCGC CACCTACGCA CCGCACCGCG AGCGGGGAGA AT - #CCGAACAC         360                                                                           - TCCATCCCAG CCGGGCCGCA CAACTGAGGA CGACTGGGGT TCACCCCACG CG - #GCCACCGG         420                                                                           - GGCCCGCCGA TGCCAGCATC CTGCCCGCTG CTGGCAGCTC AACATGCCGC GC - #GAAGCCCA         480                                                                           - AACTTGATGC TACCGAGAGA CACAGATATA TTGACTGCAA CCATTAGACA CA - #GATAACTG         540                                                                           #         548                                                                  - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:6:                                             -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: Not R - #elevant                                             (D) TOPOLOGY: Not Relev - #ant                                       -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:6:                                  - Glu Phe Tyr Lys Phe Leu Phe Thr Phe Leu Al - #a Met Ala Glu Lys Leu          #                15                                                            - Val Asn Phe Asn Ile Asp Glu Leu Val Thr Se - #r Phe Glu Ser His Asp          #            30                                                                - Ile Asp His Tyr Tyr Thr Glu Gln Lys Ala Me - #t Glu Asn Val His Gly          #        45                                                                    - Glu Thr Tyr Ala                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:7:                                             -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: Not R - #elevant                                             (D) TOPOLOGY: Not Relev - #ant                                       -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:7:                                  - Ile Phe Ile Ser Asn Leu Lys Tyr Gln Thr Le - #u Leu Asp Ser Ile Gln          #                15                                                            - Gly Arg Ser Pro Asn Val Ala Leu Leu Pro Le - #u Ile Ser Ile Pro Glu          #            30                                                                - Leu Glu Thr Trp Val Glu Thr Trp Ala Phe Se - #r Glu Thr Ile His Ser          #        45                                                                    - Arg Ser Tyr Thr                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:8:                                             -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: Not R - #elevant                                             (D) TOPOLOGY: Not Relev - #ant                                       -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:8:                                  - Glu Thr Met Lys Val Val Ser Asn Phe Leu Gl - #u Val Gly Glu Tyr Asn          #                15                                                            - Ala Ile Ala Ala Thr Gly Met Leu Trp Asp Se - #r Ala Gln Ala Ala Glu          #            30                                                                - Gln Lys Asn Gly Tyr Leu Ala Gln Val Leu As - #p Glu Ile Arg His Thr          #        45                                                                    - His Gln Cys Ala                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:9:                                             -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:9:                                  - Glu Thr Met Lys Val Ile Ser Asn Phe Leu Gl - #u Val Gly Glu Tyr Asn          #                15                                                            - Ala Ile Ala Ala Ser Ala Met Leu Trp Asp Se - #r Ala Thr Ala Ala Glu          #            30                                                                - Gln Lys Asn Gly Tyr Leu Ala Gln Val Leu As - #p Glu Ile Arg His Thr          #        45                                                                    - His Gln Cys Ala                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:10:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:10:                                 - Asn Ala Leu Lys Leu Phe Leu Thr Ala Val Se - #r Pro Leu Glu Tyr Gln          #                15                                                            - Ala Phe Gln Gly Phe Ser Arg Val Gly Arg Gl - #n Phe Ser Gly Ala Gly          #            30                                                                - Ala Arg Val Ala Cys Gln Met Gln Ala Ile As - #p Glu Leu Arg His Val          #        45                                                                    - Gln Thr Gln Val                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:11:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:11:                                 - Ser Thr Leu Lys Ser His Tyr Gly Ala Ile Al - #a Val Gly Glu Tyr Ala          #                15                                                            - Ala Val Thr Gly Glu Gly Arg Met Ala Arg Ph - #e Ser Lys Ala Pro Gly          #            30                                                                - Asn Arg Asn Met Ala Thr Phe Gly Met Met As - #p Glu Leu Arg His Gly          #        45                                                                    - Gln Leu Gln Leu                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:12:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 54 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:12:                                 - Leu Val Gly Asp Met Ile Thr Glu Glu Ala Le - #u Pro Thr Tyr Gln Thr          #                15                                                            - Met Leu Asn Thr Leu Asp Gly Val Arg Asp Gl - #u Thr Gly Ala Ser Pro          #            30                                                                - Thr Ser Trp Ala Ile Trp Thr Arg Ala Trp Th - #r Ala Glu Glu Asn Arg          #        45                                                                    - His Gly Asp Leu Leu Asn                                                          50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:13:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 54 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:13:                                 - Leu Val Gly Asp Met Ile Thr Glu Glu Ala Le - #u Pro Thr Tyr Gln Thr          #                15                                                            - Met Leu Asn Thr Leu Asp Gly Val Arg Asp Gl - #u Thr Gly Ala Ser Pro          #            30                                                                - Thr Pro Trp Ala Ile Trp Thr Arg Ala Trp Th - #r Ala Glu Glu Asn Arg          #        45                                                                    - His Gly Asp Leu Leu Asn                                                          50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:14:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 54 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:14:                                 - Leu Val Gly Asp Met Ile Thr Glu Glu Ala Le - #u Pro Thr Tyr Gln Thr          #                15                                                            - Met Leu Asn Thr Leu Asp Gly Val Arg Asp Gl - #u Thr Gly Ala Ser Leu          #            30                                                                - Thr Pro Trp Ala Val Trp Thr Arg Ala Trp Th - #r Ala Glu Glu Asn Arg          #        45                                                                    - His Gly Asp Leu Leu His                                                          50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:15:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 54 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:15:                                 - Leu Val Gly Asp Met Ile Thr Glu Glu Ala Le - #u Pro Thr Tyr Gln Thr          #                15                                                            - Met Leu Asn Thr Leu Asp Gly Ala Lys Asp Gl - #u Thr Gly Ala Ser Pro          #            30                                                                - Thr Ser Trp Ala Val Trp Thr Arg Ala Trp Th - #r Ala Glu Glu Asn Arg          #        45                                                                    - His Gly Asp Leu Leu Asn                                                          50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:16:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 54 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:16:                                 - Leu Val Gly Asp Met Ile Thr Glu Glu Ala Le - #u Pro Thr Tyr Gln Thr          #                15                                                            - Met Leu Asn Thr Leu Asp Gly Val Arg Asp Gl - #u Thr Gly Ala Ser Pro          #            30                                                                - Thr Ser Trp Ala Ile Trp Thr Arg Ala Trp Th - #r Ala Glu Glu Asn Arg          #        45                                                                    - His Gly Asp Leu Leu Asn                                                          50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:17:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 54 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:17:                                 - Leu Ile Gly Asp Met Ile Thr Glu Glu Ala Le - #u Pro Thr Tyr Gln Thr          #                15                                                            - Met Ile Asn Thr Leu Asp Gly Val Arg Asp Gl - #u Thr Gly Ala Thr Val          #            30                                                                - Thr Pro Trp Ala Ile Trp Thr Arg Ala Trp Th - #r Ala Glu Glu Asn Arg          #        45                                                                    - His Gly Asp Leu Leu Asn                                                          50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:18:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 54 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:18:                                 - Leu Val Gly Asp Met Ile Thr Glu Glu Ala Le - #u Pro Thr Tyr Gln Thr          #                15                                                            - Met Leu Asn Thr Leu Asp Gly Val Arg Asp Gl - #u Thr Gly Ala Ser Leu          #            30                                                                - Thr Pro Trp Ala Ile Trp Thr Arg Ala Trp Th - #r Ala Glu Glu Asn Arg          #        45                                                                    - His Gly Asp Leu Leu Asn                                                          50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:19:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 54 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:19:                                 - Leu Val Gly Asp Met Ile Thr Glu Glu Ala Le - #u Pro Thr Tyr Met Ser          #                15                                                            - Met Leu Asn Arg Cys Asp Gly Ile Lys Asp As - #p Thr Gly Ala Gln Pro          #            30                                                                - Thr Ser Trp Ala Thr Trp Thr Arg Ala Trp Th - #r Ala Glu Glu Asn Arg          #        45                                                                    - His Gly Asp Leu Leu Asn                                                          50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:20:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 54 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:20:                                 - Ser Asp Val Ala Gln Val Ala Met Val Gln As - #n Leu Val Thr Glu Asp          #                15                                                            - Asn Leu Pro Ser Tyr His Arg Glu Ile Ala Me - #t Asn Met Gly Met Asp          #            30                                                                - Gly Ala Trp Gly Gln Trp Val Asn Arg Trp Th - #r Ala Glu Glu Asn Arg          #        45                                                                    - His Gly Ile Ala Leu Arg                                                          50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:21:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:21:                                 - Glu Lys Ile Leu Val Phe Leu Leu Ile Glu Gl - #y Ile Phe Phe Ile Ser          #                15                                                            - Ser Phe Tyr Ser Ile Ala Leu Leu Arg Val Ar - #g Gly Leu Met Pro Gly          #            30                                                                - Ile Cys Leu Ala Asn Asn Tyr Ile Ser Arg As - #p Glu Leu Leu His Thr          #        45                                                                    - Arg Ala Ala Ser                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:22:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:22:                                 - Leu Cys Leu Met Ser Val Asn Ala Leu Glu Al - #a Ile Arg Phe Tyr Val          #                15                                                            - Ser Phe Ala Cys Ser Phe Ala Phe Ala Glu Ar - #g Glu Leu Met Glu Gly          #            30                                                                - Asn Ala Lys Ile Ile Arg Leu Ile Ala Arg As - #p Glu Ala Leu His Leu          #        45                                                                    - Thr Gly Thr Gln                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:23:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:23:                                 - Cys Ser Leu Asn Leu Gln Leu Val Gly Glu Al - #a Cys Phe Thr Asn Pro          #                15                                                            - Leu Ile Val Ala Val Thr Glu Trp Ala Ala Al - #a Asn Gly Asp Glu Ile          #            30                                                                - Thr Pro Thr Val Phe Leu Ser Ile Glu Thr As - #p Glu Leu Arg His Met          #        45                                                                    - Ala Asn Gly Tyr                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:24:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:24:                                 - Cys Ser Val Asn Leu Gln Leu Val Gly Asp Th - #r Cys Phe Thr Asn Pro          #                15                                                            - Leu Ile Val Ala Val Thr Glu Trp Ala Ile Gl - #y Asn Gly Asp Glu Ile          #            30                                                                - Thr Pro Thr Val Phe Leu Ser Val Glu Thr As - #p Glu Leu Arg His Met          #        45                                                                    - Ala Asn Gly Tyr                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:25:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:25:                                 - Phe Leu Thr Ala Val Ser Phe Ser Phe Glu Ty - #r Val Leu Thr Asn Leu          #                15                                                            - Leu Phe Val Pro Phe Met Ser Gly Ala Ala Ty - #r Asn Gly Asp Met Ala          #            30                                                                - Thr Val Thr Phe Gly Phe Ser Ala Gln Ser As - #p Glu Ala Arg His Met          #        45                                                                    - Thr Leu Gly Leu                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:26:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:26:                                 - Val Ala Ile Met Leu Thr Phe Ser Phe Glu Th - #r Gly Phe Thr Asn Met          #                15                                                            - Gln Phe Leu Gly Leu Ala Ala Asp Ala Ala Gl - #u Ala Gly Asp Tyr Thr          #            30                                                                - Phe Ala Asn Leu Ile Ser Ser Ile Gln Thr As - #p Glu Ser Arg His Ala          #        45                                                                    - Gln Gln Gly Gly                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:27:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:27:                                 - Tyr Leu Gly Phe Ile Tyr Thr Ser Phe Gln Gl - #u Arg Ala Thr Phe Ile          #                15                                                            - Ser His Gly Asn Thr Ala Arg Gln Ala Lys Gl - #u His Gly Asp Ile Lys          #            30                                                                - Leu Ala Gln Ile Cys Gly Thr Ile Ala Ala As - #p Glu Lys Arg His Glu          #        45                                                                    - Thr Ala Tyr Thr                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:28:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:28:                                 - Tyr Leu Gly Phe Ile Tyr Thr Ser Phe Gln Gl - #u Arg Ala Thr Phe Ile          #                15                                                            - Ser His Gly Asn Thr Ala Arg Leu Ala Lys Gl - #u His Gly Asp Ile Lys          #            30                                                                - Leu Ala Gln Ile Cys Gly Thr Ile Thr Ala As - #p Glu Lys Arg His Glu          #        45                                                                    - Thr Ala Tyr Thr                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:29:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:29:                                 - Tyr Leu Gly Phe Ile Tyr Thr Ser Phe Gln Gl - #u Arg Ala Thr Phe Val          #                15                                                            - Ser His Gly Asn Thr Ala Arg His Ala Lys As - #p His Gly Asp Val Lys          #            30                                                                - Leu Ala Gln Ile Cys Gly Thr Ile Ala Ser As - #p Glu Lys Arg His Glu          #        45                                                                    - Thr Ala Tyr Thr                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:30:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:30:                                 - Tyr Leu Gly Phe Val Tyr Thr Ser Phe Gln Gl - #u Arg Ala Thr Phe Val          #                15                                                            - Ser His Gly Asn Ser Ala Arg Leu Ala Lys Gl - #u His Gly Asp Leu Lys          #            30                                                                - Met Ala Gln Ile Cys Gly Ile Ile Ala Ser As - #p Glu Lys Arg His Glu          #        45                                                                    - Thr Ala Tyr Thr                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:31:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:31:                                 - Tyr Leu Gly Phe Ile Tyr Thr Ser Phe Gln Gl - #u Arg Ala Thr Phe Ile          #                15                                                            - Ser His Gly Asn Thr Ala Arg Gln Ala Lys Gl - #u His Gly Asp Leu Lys          #            30                                                                - Leu Ala Gln Ile Cys Gly Thr Ile Ala Ala As - #p Glu Lys Arg His Glu          #        45                                                                    - Thr Ala Tyr Thr                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:32:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:32:                                 - Tyr Leu Gly Phe Val Tyr Thr Ser Leu Arg Ly - #s Gly Val Thr Phe Val          #                15                                                            - Ser His Gly Asn Thr Ala Arg Leu Ala Lys Gl - #u His Gly Asp Met Lys          #            30                                                                - Leu Ala Gln Ile Cys Gly Ser Ile Ala Ala As - #p Glu Lys Arg His Glu          #        45                                                                    - Thr Ala Tyr Thr                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:33:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:33:                                 - Tyr Leu Gly Phe Ile Tyr Thr Ser Phe Gln Gl - #u Arg Ala Thr Phe Ile          #                15                                                            - Ser His Gly Asn Thr Ala Arg Leu Ala Lys As - #p His Gly Asp Met Lys          #            30                                                                - Leu Ala Gln Ile Cys Gly Ile Ile Ala Ala As - #p Glu Lys Arg His Glu          #        45                                                                    - Thr Ala Tyr Thr                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:34:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 52 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:34:                                 - Tyr Met Gly Phe Ile Tyr Thr Ser Phe Gln Gl - #u Arg Ala Thr Phe Ile          #                15                                                            - Ser His Ala Asn Thr Ala Lys Leu Ala Gln Hi - #s Tyr Gly Asp Lys Asn          #            30                                                                - Leu Ala Gln Val Cys Gly Asn Ile Ala Ser As - #p Glu Lys Arg His Ala          #        45                                                                    - Thr Ala Tyr Thr                                                                  50                                                                         - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:35:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 49 amino                                                           (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:35:                                 - Thr Asp Ser Val Leu Tyr Val Ser Phe Gln Gl - #u Leu Ala Thr Arg Ile          #                15                                                            - Ser His Arg Asn Thr Gly Lys Ala Cys Asn As - #p Pro Val Ala Asp Gln          #            30                                                                - Leu Met Ala Lys Ile Ser Ala Asp Glu Asn Le - #u His Met Ile Phe Tyr          #        45                                                                    - Arg                                                                          - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:36:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #pairs    (A) LENGTH: 1600 base                                                          (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: Not R - #elevant                                             (D) TOPOLOGY: Not Relev - #ant                                       -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: other nucleic acid                                   #= "NUCLEIC ACID"CRIPTION: /desc                                               -     (ix) FEATURE:                                                                      (A) NAME/KEY: CDS                                                              (B) LOCATION: 549..1562                                              -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:36:                                 - GATCATCATC GGCCGGCTGC CGCGCAGGGC GCCGACACCG GCGAGTGCGG GC - #GCGAGGAT          60                                                                           - CGGCCCCCAC CAGTTCGGCA GCTGCGTGTC GATGCGCTCC ACAATCCCGG GA - #AACAGCTC         120                                                                           - GACCATTACC TCCTCAATAT GAGCCTCGAA AAACTTGCCG CTGTGCGCGG CG - #TCGTGGTG         180                                                                           - AGCGCACACA ACAACTGTTA GCTGACCAGC AGGATCGGCG CTCTTACCGG TC - #TGTTCACC         240                                                                           - GCATATCTGA ACGGACGGCT GGGAGCCACC CGCAAGCAAT TCATCGACTA CT - #GCGTCAAC         300                                                                           - ATGTTGCTCA GCACCGCCGC CACCTACGCA CCGCACCGCG AGCGGGGAGA AT - #CCGAACAC         360                                                                           - TCCATCCCAG CCGGGCCGCA CAACTGAGGA CGACTGGGGT TCACCCCACG CG - #GCCACCGG         420                                                                           - CGCCCGCCGA TGCCAGCATC CTGCCCGCTG CTGGCAGCTC AACATGCCGC GC - #GAAGCCCA         480                                                                           - AACTTGATGC TACCGAGAGA CACAGATATA TTGACTGCAA CCATTAGACA CA - #GATAACTG         540                                                                           #CTG CTG CAC GAA CTT     590TG ACC GAC CTG CAG                                          Met Ser Ala Lys Leu T - #hr Asp Leu Gln Leu Leu His Glu Leu           #            350                                                               - GAA CCG GTC GTC GAG AAG TAC CTG AAC CGG CA - #C CTG AGC ATG CAC AAG           638                                                                           Glu Pro Val Val Glu Lys Tyr Leu Asn Arg Hi - #s Leu Ser Met His Lys            #       365                                                                    - CCC TGG AAC CCG CAC GAC TAC ATC CCG TGG TC - #G GAC GGG AAG AAC TAC           686                                                                           Pro Trp Asn Pro His Asp Tyr Ile Pro Trp Se - #r Asp Gly Lys Asn Tyr            #   380                                                                        - TAC GCG CTC GGC GGG CAG GAT TGG GAC CCC GA - #C CAG AGC AAG CTT TCT           734                                                                           Tyr Ala Leu Gly Gly Gln Asp Trp Asp Pro As - #p Gln Ser Lys Leu Ser            385                 3 - #90                 3 - #95                 4 -        #00                                                                            - GAT GTC GCC CAG GTG GCG ATG GTG CAG AAC CT - #G GTC ACC GAG GAC AAC           782                                                                           Asp Val Ala Gln Val Ala Met Val Gln Asn Le - #u Val Thr Glu Asp Asn            #               415                                                            - CTG CCG TCG TAT CAC CGC GAG ATC GCG ATG AA - #C ATG GGC ATG GAC GGC           830                                                                           Leu Pro Ser Tyr His Arg Glu Ile Ala Met As - #n Met Gly Met Asp Gly            #           430                                                                - GCG TGG GGG CAG TGG GTC AAC CGT TGG ACC GC - #C GAG GAG AAT CGG CAC           878                                                                           Ala Trp Gly Gln Trp Val Asn Arg Trp Thr Al - #a Glu Glu Asn Arg His            #       445                                                                    - GGC ATC GCG CTG CGC GAC TAC CTG GTG GTG AC - #C CGA TCG GTC GAC CCT           926                                                                           Gly Ile Ala Leu Arg Asp Tyr Leu Val Val Th - #r Arg Ser Val Asp Pro            #   460                                                                        - GTC GAG TTG GAG AAA CTT CGC CTC GAG GTA GT - #C AAC CGG GGC TTC AGC           974                                                                           Val Glu Leu Glu Lys Leu Arg Leu Glu Val Va - #l Asn Arg Gly Phe Ser            465                 4 - #70                 4 - #75                 4 -        #80                                                                            - CCA GGC CAA AAC CAC CAG GGC CAC TAT TTC GC - #G GAG AGC CTC ACC GAC          1022                                                                           Pro Gly Gln Asn His Gln Gly His Tyr Phe Al - #a Glu Ser Leu Thr Asp            #               495                                                            - TCC GTC CTC TAT GTC AGT TTC CAG GAA CTG GC - #A ACC CGG ATT TCG CAC          1070                                                                           Ser Val Leu Tyr Val Ser Phe Gln Glu Leu Al - #a Thr Arg Ile Ser His            #           510                                                                - CGC AAT ACC GGC AAG GCA TGT AAC GAC CCC GT - #C GCC GAC CAG CTC ATG          1118                                                                           Arg Asn Thr Gly Lys Ala Cys Asn Asp Pro Va - #l Ala Asp Gln Leu Met            #       525                                                                    - GCC AAG ATC TCG GCA GAC GAG AAT CTG CAC AT - #G ATC TTC TAC CGC GAC          1166                                                                           Ala Lys Ile Ser Ala Asp Glu Asn Leu His Me - #t Ile Phe Tyr Arg Asp            #   540                                                                        - GTC AGC GAG GCC GCG TTC GAC CTC GTG CCC AA - #C CAG GCC ATG AAG TCG          1214                                                                           Val Ser Glu Ala Ala Phe Asp Leu Val Pro As - #n Gln Ala Met Lys Ser            545                 5 - #50                 5 - #55                 5 -        #60                                                                            - CTG CAC CTG ATT TTG AGC CAC TTC CAG ATG CC - #C GGC TTC CAA GTA CCC          1262                                                                           Leu His Leu Ile Leu Ser His Phe Gln Met Pr - #o Gly Phe Gln Val Pro            #               575                                                            - GAG TTC CGG CGC AAA GCC GTG GTC ATC GCC GT - #C GGG GGT GTC TAC GAC          1310                                                                           Glu Phe Arg Arg Lys Ala Val Val Ile Ala Va - #l Gly Gly Val Tyr Asp            #           590                                                                - CCG CGC ATC CAC CTC GAC GAA GTC GTC ATG CC - #G GTA CTG AAG AAA TGG          1358                                                                           Pro Arg Ile His Leu Asp Glu Val Val Met Pr - #o Val Leu Lys Lys Trp            #       605                                                                    - TGT ATC TTC GAG CGC GAG GAC TTC ACC GGC GA - #G GGG GCT AAG CTG CGC          1406                                                                           Cys Ile Phe Glu Arg Glu Asp Phe Thr Gly Gl - #u Gly Ala Lys Leu Arg            #   620                                                                        - GAC GAG CTG GCC CTG GTG ATC AAG GAC CTC GA - #G CTG GCC TGC GAC AAG          1454                                                                           Asp Glu Leu Ala Leu Val Ile Lys Asp Leu Gl - #u Leu Ala Cys Asp Lys            625                 6 - #30                 6 - #35                 6 -        #40                                                                            - TTC GAG GTG TCC AAG CAA CGC CAA CTC GAC CG - #G GAA GCC CGT ACG GGC          1502                                                                           Phe Glu Val Ser Lys Gln Arg Gln Leu Asp Ar - #g Glu Ala Arg Thr Gly            #               655                                                            - AAG AAG GTC AGC GCA CAC GAG CTG CAT AAA AC - #C GCT GGC AAA CTG GCG          1550                                                                           Lys Lys Val Ser Ala His Glu Leu His Lys Th - #r Ala Gly Lys Leu Ala            #           670                                                                - ATG AGC CGT CGT TAGCCCGGCG ACGATGCAGA GCGCGCAGCG CG - #ATGAGC                1600                                                                           Met Ser Arg Arg                                                                        675                                                                    - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:37:                                            -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                           #acids    (A) LENGTH: 338 amino                                                          (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                 -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein                                              #NO:37: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID                                      - Met Ser Ala Lys Leu Thr Asp Leu Gln Leu Le - #u His Glu Leu Glu Pro          #                 15                                                           - Val Val Glu Lys Tyr Leu Asn Arg His Leu Se - #r Met His Lys Pro Trp          #             30                                                               - Asn Pro His Asp Tyr Ile Pro Trp Ser Asp Gl - #y Lys Asn Tyr Tyr Ala          #         45                                                                   - Leu Gly Gly Gln Asp Trp Asp Pro Asp Gln Se - #r Lys Leu Ser Asp Val          #     60                                                                       - Ala Gln Val Ala Met Val Gln Asn Leu Val Th - #r Glu Asp Asn Leu Pro          # 80                                                                           - Ser Tyr His Arg Glu Ile Ala Met Asn Met Gl - #y Met Asp Gly Ala Trp          #                 95                                                           - Gly Gln Trp Val Asn Arg Trp Thr Ala Glu Gl - #u Asn Arg His Gly Ile          #           110                                                                - Ala Leu Arg Asp Tyr Leu Val Val Thr Arg Se - #r Val Asp Pro Val Glu          #       125                                                                    - Leu Glu Lys Leu Arg Leu Glu Val Val Asn Ar - #g Gly Phe Ser Pro Gly          #   140                                                                        - Gln Asn His Gln Gly His Tyr Phe Ala Glu Se - #r Leu Thr Asp Ser Val          145                 1 - #50                 1 - #55                 1 -        #60                                                                            - Leu Tyr Val Ser Phe Gln Glu Leu Ala Thr Ar - #g Ile Ser His Arg Asn          #               175                                                            - Thr Gly Lys Ala Cys Asn Asp Pro Val Ala As - #p Gln Leu Met Ala Lys          #           190                                                                - Ile Ser Ala Asp Glu Asn Leu His Met Ile Ph - #e Tyr Arg Asp Val Ser          #       205                                                                    - Glu Ala Ala Phe Asp Leu Val Pro Asn Gln Al - #a Met Lys Ser Leu His          #   220                                                                        - Leu Ile Leu Ser His Phe Gln Met Pro Gly Ph - #e Gln Val Pro Glu Phe          225                 2 - #30                 2 - #35                 2 -        #40                                                                            - Arg Arg Lys Ala Val Val Ile Ala Val Gly Gl - #y Val Tyr Asp Pro Arg          #               255                                                            - Ile His Leu Asp Glu Val Val Met Pro Val Le - #u Lys Lys Trp Cys Ile          #           270                                                                - Phe Glu Arg Glu Asp Phe Thr Gly Glu Gly Al - #a Lys Leu Arg Asp Glu          #       285                                                                    - Leu Ala Leu Val Ile Lys Asp Leu Glu Leu Al - #a Cys Asp Lys Phe Glu          #   300                                                                        - Val Ser Lys Gln Arg Gln Leu Asp Arg Glu Al - #a Arg Thr Gly Lys Lys          305                 3 - #10                 3 - #15                 3 -        #20                                                                            - Val Ser Ala His Glu Leu His Lys Thr Ala Gl - #y Lys Leu Ala Met Ser          #               335                                                            - Arg Arg                                                                      __________________________________________________________________________ 

We claim:
 1. A purified DNA coding for an enzyme from the class II diiron-oxo protein family and comprising the nucleic acid sequence set forth in FIG. 2 (SEQ ID NO. 3).
 2. A purified DNA comprising a promoter having the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO.
 5. 3. A purified nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of:a) 5'-CGGCATATGTCAGCCAAGCTGACCGACCTGCAG-3'(SEQ ID NO: 1); b) 5'-CCGGGATCCCGCGCTCGCCGCTCTGCATCGTCG-3'(SEQ ID NO: 2); and c) a sequence comprising nucleotide 572 to nucleotide 1589 as set forth in SEQ ID NO.
 3. 4. A recombinant vector comprising the purified DNA according to claim
 1. 5. The recombinant vector according to claim 4 which is the plasmid pET-des that has been deposited at the CNCM under the accession number I-1718.
 6. The recombinant vector according to claim 4 which is the plasmid pBS-des that has been deposited at the CNCM under the accession number I-1719.
 7. A recombinant prokaryotic or eukaryotic host transformed with a recombinant vector according to claim 5 or
 6. 8. The recombinant host according to claim 7 which is E. coli.
 9. A process for detecting a bacteria of the Mycobacterium species in a biological sample comprising the steps of:a) making the bacterial DNA of the biological sample available to the solvent; b) contacting a purified nucleic acid according to claim 1 or 3 under hybridizing conditions; and c) detecting the hybrids formed between the purified nucleic acid and the bacterial DNA present in the biological sample.
 10. The process according to claim 9, further comprising a step of amplifying the purified nucleic acid before the hybridization step b). 